MARILYN MONROE
G'day folks,
Remember Marilyn Monroe? Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, model, and singer, who
became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially
successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. Here are some basic facts about the blonde bombshell.
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
Model, actress, singer and arguably one of the most famous women of the
twentieth century.
“I am good, but not an angel. I do
sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to
find someone to love.”
— Marilyn Monroe
Monroe was born, Norma Jeane
Mortenson, in June 1926. Her father was unknown and she was baptized as Norma
Jeane Baker; she spent many years in foster homes because of her family
situation.
Monroe married Jimmy Dougherty, in 1942. When
he left to the South Pacific to fight in the Second world War, she joined a
local munitions factory in Burbank, California. It was here that Marilyn got
her first big break. Photographer David Conover, was covering the munitions
factory to show women at work. He was struck by the beauty and photogenic
nature of Norma, and he used her in many of her shots. This enabled her to
start a career as a model and she was soon featured on the front of many
magazine covers.
1946 was a pivotal year for
Marilyn, she divorced her young husband and changed her name from the boring
Norma Baker to the more glamorous Marilyn Monroe (after her grandma). She took
drama lessons and got her first movie contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Her
first few films were low key, but, it gained her more prominent roles in films
such as All About Eve,
Niagara and
later Gentleman Prefer
Blondes and How
To Marry A Millionaire.
By now these film roles had thrust her into
the global limelight. She was an iconic figure of Hollywood glamour and
fashion. She was an epitome of sensuality, beauty and effervescence and was
naturally photogenic.
In 1954, she married baseball
star Joe DiMaggio, a friend of over 2 years. They were later to divorce, but
they remained close friends.
She tried to move beyond the
'blonde bombshell' typecasting and set up her own movie production. She was
awarded a golden globe award for her role in 'Some Like It Hot'
Tragically, she died early
from an overdose of barbiturates in 1962 aged just 36.
Clancy's comment: There is a heavy price to be paid for fame and glory. Luckily I have not had to worry about it ... YET!
I'm ...
